Bottle cleaning device



March 16, 1937. H. KELLQ 2,073,746

BOTTLE CLEANING DEVICE Filed Feb. 24, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet l JQWENTOR. lie '2 ry Ke/(-r ATTORNEY March 16, 1937. H. KELLER BOTTLE CLEANING DEVICE I Filed Feb. 24, 1953 Sheets-Sheet 2 Q if 44 ff INVENTO/B. H nry Kemer- BYWKM ATTORNEY "Paamea Mar. ,16, 1937 Umrso STATES- PATENT orrlcs 2,073,748 some CLEANING omen Henry Keller, Astoria, N. Y., assignor 60' The Best Foods, Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporationoi Delaware Application February 24, 1933, Serial No. 658,308

'12 Claims. (ours-44y I dust particles, etc. from within the bottle.

Before using new bottles as containers for food products, it is necessary to subject them 'to a cleaning process in order to remove any particles oi dust, glass, etc. that may be within the bottle.

It has been the practice to subject these bottles to washing and drying in order to effect this removal. I

It is an object of the present invention to. provide an improved device whereby the dust, glass and other particles may be removed by means or a jet of air and the application of suction. ,An-

' other object is to provide an improved means for controlling the jet of .air supplied to the bottles.

- A further object is to provide an improved arrangement whereby the apparatus may be made 7 available for diflerent numbers and sizes of botties.v Other objects will become apparent.

In describing theinvention, reference will be made to the drawings, in which Figure 1 represents a perspective view of an apparatus em-' bod'ying the invention and having six outlets. Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view through the longitudinal center line of a device like that shown in Figure 1 but having only four outlets,

the air filter being shown partially in elevation.

Eigure 3. isa lr'actionalend elevation of the device. Figure 4 is a transverse section through the center'line'of the device and Figure 5 is a top plan view of one half 01' dt.

t In the drawings, the numeral ll illustrates one of a group of bottles to be cleaned in a single operation of the device. This, and the other bottles to be cleaned during that operation (not' shown), are carried upon a section I; or a con- 'veyor adapted to be moved intermittently longi tudinally'through the machine by the chains i3,

I3 and provided with means for elevating each section when it reaches the position of the section, Na, 1. e., when it' is immediately beneath the row of air cleaners. This type of conveyor with means for successively elevating the several sections, is old and generally used in apparatus for simultaneously filling groups 01' bottles.

c The cleaning device is made up of a receivingv maniiold ll provided with a vnumber oftruncated conical or; bell-shaped openings I5, each of which openings. is adapted; to receive the mouth of one of the bottles when the section l2a is in its fully elevated position. The size of each of these openings is so proportioned that when the section l2a isin its fully raised position there is a small space between the mouth of the bottle and the sides of the opening. This receivingmanifold communicates through a ran shaped suction manifold 16 with the intake side of a blower Il operated by a- 5 motor I la, which blower maybe, for example, oi the type used in a vacuum sweeper. The air from this blower is conducted through the pipe it to a. suitable receptacle, for instance, such as a bag similar to those used with vacuum'cleaners (not shown);

The air jet to beapplied to each bottle is introduced through a nozzle l9 adaptedto extend to a point near the bottom of the bottle when the section i211 is in its fully raised position. Each of 15 these nozzles is connected to a pressureqmanifold 20 which in turn communicates with an" air filter 2i and, through the pipe, 22, with a source of supply of compressed air or other suitable gaseous medium (not'shown).

The air filter, which may be filled wi liiexcelsior packing or other suitable cleansing medium shown at 23 as resting upon a. screen 24, is provided with a cross fitting it, having a baflie 23 so positioned that the air entering through the ipipe 22 will. pass up through the filtering material and thereafter be discharged through the connection 21 to the manifold 20. ,7

I The admission of air to the sevei'al nozzles it, i9 iscontrolled by several ball valves within the 3 manifold 20. In each of these valves the ball 28 is normally positioned in a countersunk inlet to the nozzle, thus closing the opening and preventing discharge of the air.

v ache! the balls 28 is loosely positioned within a ole '29 in a con- 35 tinuous bar 30. This bar is rovided with a rounded bottom surface 3| (see/Figure 4 curved to fit the shape of the lower portion of the manitold 23 and. adapted to slide 'a'round' the-inner surface ,thereoi. J-

The bar 301's actuated by a shaft 32 passing through the center'oi the manifold 23 andprovided with holes 33 adapted to loosely receive pins 34 fixed to the bar. 30. a The shaft- 32 may be given an oscillating move 45 ment'by a lever 35 (Figure 1) fixedto the end'oi the shaft. This lever 35 is actuated by a cam 36, fixed to ashaft 31, through a lever .33 pivoted in a fixed rod 33 and pivotally connected at one end to a connecting rod III, which latter is pivot- 7o pressure tank.

be provided to quickly return the lever 35 to its normal position after it has been depressed by the action of the cam 36.

In operating the improved device, a group of 5 bottles is placed upon a section I! of the conveyor and as it advances to the position Ila the section of the conveyor and the bottles are raised so that the mouths of the bottles fit loosely within the bell-shaped openings in the manifold and the i nozzles I! extend to near the bottom of the respective bottles. The suction from the blower ll continuously draws .air through the manifold openings l around the mouths of the bottles and reduces the pressure at the mouths of the bottles.

The shaft 31 is rotated, by suitable means (not shown), in conjunction withvthe movement of the conveyor so that when the bottles are in their -raised position the lever 35 is depressed twice by the action of the cam surface upon the lever 3|. As the lever 35 is depressed, the rod 32 is rotated in its bearings at the ends of the manifold 2| and the pins 34 actuated thereby slide the bar 30 around the inner surface of the manifold .to roll the balls '2! out of their seats in the inlets to'the nozzles I! against the pressure of the air tending to hold them in place. When the enlarged portion of the cam has passed the roller 4! the spring 42 returns the lever 35 to its normal position and the rod Ill together with the balls 28 are returned to their normal positions and the several valves are closed. The suction is applied contihuously and any dust, glass'particles,

etc. stirred up by the blasts through the nozzles l9, I! will be drawn out through the manifold I8 and discharged through the pipe l8.

Shortly after the second blast ofair, the sec-i ll'may be removed by unfastening "the bolts in the flange connection between the receiving 5o 'manifoldl4 and thesuction manifold IS. The receiving manifold It may be'then replaced by 0 one having onlytwo bell-shaped openings, similar to the openings I! but centered with the holes 46. The plugs it may be removed and two of the nomies I. may be inserted in the holes 45. It is apparent that the holes in the manifold 20 may be positioned, and the inlet manifold it may be shaped, to take different numbers of bottles of different shapes, and by replacing the manifold with one with suitably positioned openings, many diil'erent combinations of sizes and numbers of bottles may be accommodated.

Obviously, many variations may be made, in the device, for example, the lever 35 may be so actuated as to open the valves in the pressure -manifold more or less often or for a greater or shorter period. If desired, the suction may also be applied intermittently, by providing suitable valvesin a manifbld connected'to a negative It is. apparent that other modifications of the invention may be used and it is not intended to limit it to the particular embodiments l lustrated and described. The terms used in describing the u invention have been used-in their descriptive sense and not as terms of limitation and it is intended that all equivalents thereof be included within the scope-of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

'1. A device of the type described comprising 5 a suction inlet adapted to receive the mouth of a I container and connected 'to a suction device, a pressure chamber connected with a source of gas under pressure and having a nozzle extending through the opening in the suction inlet, and 10 adapted to extend into the container, ball valve means for normally closing said nozzle, said means being held in a position to close said nozzle largely by the pressure in said chamber, and means for periodically actuating said valve means to sud- 15 denly open and close said nozzle to emit a sharp blastfrom the nozzle.

2. A device as defined in claim 1 in which the suction inlet is so shaped as to leave a space around the mouth of the container. 20

3. A device as defined in claim 1, in which the ball fits loosely within an opening in a bar positioned within said chamber, said bar being actuated'by a shaft passing through said chamber.

4. A device as defined in claim 1 including a 2 5 plurality ofsuction inlets, a plurality of nozzles from the pressure chamber, and a ball'valve for each nozzle with means for simultaneously actuating said ball valves.

5. A device as defined in claim 1 in which said 30 valve actuating means comprises a bar having holes adapted to loosely receive said balls and having pins extending through holes in a shaft positioned longitudinally in said pressure chamber, said bar being adapted upon rotation of said 35 shaft to rotate in said pressure chamber and roll said balls into and out of their seats in the inlets to the nozzles.

6. A device of the type described comprising a manifold, a plurality of openings in said mani- 40 fold, a ball positioned in and adapted to close each such opening, a bar within said manifold having a plurality of holes each adapted to loosely receive one of said balls, means for preventing the balls from falling out of said holes, and ineans '45 for actuating said bar tosimultaneously 11 said balls into' and'out of their normal posit ons to opennnd close said openings. I d

7. 'A valve comprising a ball adapted to normally close a cylindrical opening, a member having 50 a hole within which said ball fits loosely, means for preventing the ball from falling out of said hole, and means for actuating said member to roll said ball out of and into its normal position in the cylindrical opening to open and close said 55 opening, said ball moving axially through the hole in said member as the member moves.

' 8. A device of the type described comprising a chamber, a cylindrical opening in the bottom of said chamber, a ball adapted to normally close 69 said cyli drical opening, a member having a hole within hich said ball fits loosely, and means for actuating said member to roll said ball out of and into its normal position in said cylindrical opening, said ball moving upw'ardly in said hole as the 55 member moves it out of its normal position.

9.'A device of the type described comprising a pressure manifold having a cylindrical inner surface, a plurality of openings in said manifold,- a plurality ofballs adapted to fit in and close 7 said openings, a member having a rounded surface'adapted to bear upon the inner surface of said manifold, said member having a plurality of openings adapted to loosely receive said balls, means for preventing the balls from falling out of the openings in said member; and means for actuating said member to roll said balls into and out of their normal positions to open and close said openings.

10. A device of the type described comprising a pressure manifold having a cylindrical inner surface, a plurality of openings in the lower portion of said manifold, a plurality of balls adapted to flt within and close said openings, a member having a curved surface adapted to bear upon the inner surface of said manifold and having a plurality of holes adapted to loosely receive said halls, a rotatable member in said manifold and means connecting said members'in such -a manner that the rotation of said rotatable member will cause said other, member to roll the balls into and out of their normal positions to open and close said openings.

11. A device of the type described comprising a suction inlet adapted to receive the mouth of a container and connected to a suction device a pressure chamber connected with a sourceof gas under pressure and having a nozzle extending I through the opening in the suction inlet,- and adapted to extend into the container, means for normally closing said nozzle, said means being held in closed position largely by the pressure in said chamber, and means for periodically moving 10 said closing means to suddenly open and close said nozzle to emit a sharp blast from the 1105218..

12. A device in accordance with claim 11 including means to operate the moving means to open and close said nozzle a plurality of times for each container.

. HENRY KELLER. 

